Blind Date
by ElectraE
Summary: When two arch enemies are set up on a blind date by the queen yenta herself, chaos happens.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** _All rights belong to their original owners. No copyright infringement intended._

**A/N:** _Hello, hello! A new plot bunny popped up in my head :) PLEASE let me know what you think so far and if I should continue this or leave it. Thank you:)  
_

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**Blind Date- Chapter One**

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**~~o0o~~**

_"Absolutely not. I'm not going on a date with a relative of yours!" C.C. exclaimed in offense focusing on the script in front of her once again._

_"Mith Babcoth, theee eth noth a reeelative." Fran said before shoveled another spoonful of frozen yogurt into her already-full mouth. "theee eth a gooth frieeenth ofth mineee." She swallowed before continuing, "and what's wrong with my relatives, anyways? If ya wanna know, I have an uncle who… " _

_"Nanny Fine," C.C. interrupted her raising her hand in the air to emphasise her annoyance._

_Fran stopped in the middle of her sentence and glanced at C.C. "Yes?" she pushed in a challenging tone while putting a hand at her waist…but of course after so years she should have known better…_

_"Now how can I put this delicately..?" C.C. questioned herself in a fake gentle voice running a hand along her neck like she was thinking it over. "hmm... um…oh, yes!" She exclaimed and smiled lightly to herself, clearly satisfied then put on a serious face and looked at Fran "...Nanny Fine, listening to you talk about your family tree makes me wanna cut it down." Babcock answered before threw back her head and let out a deep, throaty laugh._

**~~o0o~~**

"For the last time Miss Fine, I don't want to go on a date." Niles growled,walking past the living room, past the kitchen, and into his room in a desperate attempt to get rid of the big haired yenta behind him.

"Sweetie, I know what I'm doing. She is the perfect person for you." Fran insisted completely unfazed by her friend's obvious annoyance. "Besides, it has been years since your last date."

"Miss Fine, please!" Niles scolded her, trying to escape the awkward conversation.

"Why? Am I wrong?" Fran challenged.

"I…umm…well…" Niles began hesitantly, but didn't continue. Nanny Fine was right, it felt like centuries ago when he thought about it.

"See" She pointed out.

"But…" Niles protested.

**~~o0o~~**

_"There are no buts, Miss Babcock." Fran said, as firm as she could manage while dipping a banana into chocolate sauce._

_"But, I don't understand, why would you do that?" C.C. asked glaring in disgust at Fran bringing the banana up to her mouth._

_"Because," Nanny Fine paused and forcefully swallowed the whole fruit before she continued,"I was thinking that it has been a long time since your last date, and you need to get out and meet…" _

_"I'm doing quite fine, thank you very much" C.C. cut her off crossing her arms around her torso. ''Besides, there is no way in hell to let you choose a man for me.'' _

_"Why?" _

_"BECAUSE we have completely different tastes in men, that's why." C.C. said looking at her like she was pointing out the obvious._

_Fran chuckled."If I were you I'd sort of rethinking this last statement, sister." _

_C.C. remained silent for a few seconds looking at her in astonishment then bit down on her bottom lip and asked coyly, "So you think I will like him?"_

**~~o0o~~**

"I think you'll really like her, Niles. She's beautiful, strong, independent, successful and as witty as you."

**~~o0o~~**

_"So you say he's clever?" C.C. asked raising an eyebrow._

_"Clever as fox," Fran assured her satisfied that she had caught her attention at least._

**~~o0o~~**

"Aw, come on, Niles! It's just a date, its not gonna kill you, sweetie!"

Niles opened his mouth to snarl a reply when Fran spoke up again.

"If it doesn't go well, you don't have to go on a second date." She assured him, closing with skill the net tight around her prey.

Niles sighed, exasperated. "If you must insist, fine! I'll go."

Fran squealed in delight. "She told me to meet her at 9 o'clock, Saturday night, at a fancy French restaurant called Alain Ducasse. You'll recognize her by the red rose she'll be wearing on her lapel. Trust me; you will thank me later!" she said smiling mischievously.

"Whatever." Niles muttered under his breath.

**~~o0o~~**

_"Aw, come on, Miss Babcock! It's just a date! It doesn't have to turn into something serious if you don't want it to." _

_"All right, all right. I'll meet him." C.C. said in a huff._

_Fran squealed in delight. "He told me to meet him at 9 o'clock, Saturday night, at a fancy French restaurant called Alain Ducasse. You'll recognize him by the red rose he'll be wearing on his lapel. Trust me; you will thank me later!" She said smiling mischievously._

_"Yeah, yeah, whatever." C.C. muttered under her breath._

**~~o0o~~**

_**Saturday night at ****Alain Ducasse…**_

It was 9: 20 and C.C. was stuck waiting for a date that hasn't showed up yet. She was beyond furious not only at Fran, but also at herself. She could not believe she had let herself get talked into this one. "No one makes a Babcock wait!" She exclaimed in anger and with that slammed her palm to the table dropping a spoon on the floor by accident. Cursing lightly under her breath, she bent down to pick it up but as she did so, she heard someone saying, "Excuse me, Miss, you must be my date." The voice felt like a bucket of cold water dawn C.C.'s back. Slowly she raised her head to see who it was. Of course she didn't need to look, she knew quiet well who it was the moment she heard the voice, but still it couldn't be... it just couldn't...

"OH- MY- GOD!" They both said in unison the very moment their gazes met. Both faces crumpled up in disgust like they had bitten a sour lemon.

"I'm going to kill Nanny Fine the moment I see her," C.C. murmured through gritted teeth.

"Not if I see her first." Niles replied in the same tone.

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_**To be continued…**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** _All rights belong to their original owners. No copyright infringement intended._

**A/N:** _Thank you_ so much for the _great response_ to the first _chapter :) Here's chapter two__ I hope you like it!_

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**Blind Date- Chapter Two**

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**~~o0o~~**

"She said you were smart!" C.C. remarked, frowning at him.

"Well she said you were good-looking and I'm not complaining!" Niles replied seating himself down in the chair across from her.

The blonde rolled her eyes before saying in a deep, almost seducing voice, "I would insult you back, but it's 'Be kind to Animals' day."

Niles smirked challengly and leaned closer to C.C. until her red lips were only a few inches away. "Then please give that face back to the gorilla." He shot back. Good one, he thought to himself.

C.C. couldn't help but fight a slight chuckle, "Oh, clever! I bet you were up all night trying to come up that one." She replied outwitting him once again.

Niles made a little, contemptuous noise in his throat in return, a noise that seemed like an ironic laugh yet nothing like a laugh. "You know Miss Babcock as much as I like the dis-pleasure of your company; I am going to go now," Niles finally announced, pressing down on his hands and pushing himself out of the seat.

"Awww, do you really have to leave so soon?" C.C. asked him putting on a fake pout, "I was about to poison your…" but her train of thought was cut off suddenly when her eyes glanced unconsciously over Niles' right shoulder and dropped upon a small, familiar group of blonde women, chatting and laughing while eating their meals just a few tables away from them.

"You're not going anywhere." C.C. snapped suddenly.

"Why? What's wrong?" Niles asked, slightly puzzled by her mood change while sitting back down in his chair.

"Don't look, but two friends of mine are right over there!" C.C. said and nodded in their direction with wide frightened eyes.

"Friends?" he asked emphasizing the 's', his expression arranged into one of shock and disbelief "…as in plural?...as in more than one? Wow…I mean…wow… I never thought I'd live to see the day… aww, I'm so proud of you, my dear!" Niles exclaimed, pretending to wipe away an imaginary happy tear.

"Oh shut up!" She yelled a little too loud while giving Niles her famous ice cold glare, but covered her mouth with her hand and lowered her tone of voice when she realized that a few heads had turned in their direction, ''this is serious." She whispered leaning closer at him after she made sure that none of them belonged to her friends.

"Why? Are you afraid of them or something?" Niles asked slowly turning his head to follow C.C.'s line of sight, but she stopped him almost instantly by grabbing his head and forcing him to look at her.

"I said don't look!" C.C. exclaimed and picked up the menu to hide behind it before motioned for Niles to do the same. "And yes I'm afraid…afraid that they'd see you and then they'd remember you serving them their drinks during the opening night of the latest Sheffield-Babcock Production … and then… they'd see me…" C.C. took a deep breath in "…and then they'd connect the dots…"

Niles looked confused. "The dots?"

C.C. rolled her eyes. "Niles, I know it's hard for you, but please try to use that thing between your ears. We are together, Sunday night, at an expensive French restaurant with a particularly romantic atmosphere, wearing matching red roses. Don't you understand? The whole thing screams DATE!" She exclaimed once again, still behind the menu, trying to look like she was actually having a hard time deciding what to order.

Niles shrugged his shoulders, "So?"

"They'll tell everyone that we were on a date!" C.C. exclaimed peeking slightly over the top of the menu, trying to figure out whether or not they had spotted her as well even though they were currently starring in the opposite direction of her. "My God! If people found out, I would die of embarrassment," she whined. Truth to be told, C.C. had never wanted to die as much as she did right then.

"Well, too bad I'll probably have to work the day of your funeral. You see I always put business before pleasure." Niles joked however when he didn't get a witty reply back like always did, started to get really worried and he tried to reason with her, ''Miss Babcock, I think you over-reacting, besides I would hardly call this a date…a date from hell on the other hand… "

C.C. let out a deep breath and lowered her menu, her tone low yet full of authority and anger, "These women are like walking infections they will spread the rumor that I, C.C. Babcock dating someone so outside my social class in no time, ruining my reputation forever in my circles. I know this first hand, they're my closest friends. And before you make any smart ass comment, yes I still have a reputation despite your constantly attempts to ruin it," she hissed at him and with that she fell silent, her chest rising and falling rapidly in anger, when she spoke up again however there was no longer anger or authority in her voice, only fear and sorrow, "just…stay a little longer."

Niles sighed, he knew he was doomed to stay from the very moment he had heard the first hint of sorrow and fear in her voice, yet he didn't want to appear too eager, so he decided to annoy her a little bit more before give in, "Only if you say the magic word," the butler said in a sing-song tone of voice.

C.C.'s mouth dropped open. "That's not gonna happen, Rochester." she answered firmly.

"Well, you want me to stay or not?" He pressed again, amusement dancing in his eyes, knowing by the irritated look on C.C.'s face that he had already won.

"Ooh, you are so gonna pay for this later, Hazel! C.C. thought darkly to herself then hissed through clenched teeth, "please!"

"Well, since you asked so nicely, I will stay." Niles replied while a small, just noticeable smile curled his lips, something that didn't go unnoticed by C.C.

"Niles?"

"Yes?"

"Did you just smile?" C.C. asked and as quickly as it had appeared, his smile was gone.

"So, what now?" Niles asked avoiding her question by changing the subject.

"Just try not to attract anyone's attention, with a little bit of luck they will leave soon and so we."

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_**To be continued…**_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: _All rights belong to their original owners. No copyright infringement intended._

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**Blind Date - Chapter Three**

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**~~o0o~~**

"Good evening," C.C. heard a voice say, causing her to tear her gaze away from her friends' table and look up at the interruption.

In front of her stood a young woman, dressed in a waitress uniform, no older than twenty-five, who looked very much like a second version of Nanny Fine, slim with big brown curly hair, dark brown eyes and kind of …slutty. That's a bad sign, a very bad sigh, C.C. thought to herself worriedly.

"My name is Penny and I'll be your server for the evening. Can I start you out with something to drink?" The woman asked politely, pulling out of her pocket her pen and notepad, but as soon as she saw the matching red roses on their lapels added, "If this is a date…" or at least she tried to as she get interrupted by C.C. almost instantly, "It's not!"

"Whatever you say ma'am… I'm only asking, because there's a good red wine I can recommend for a special occasion like the date is."

"Ugh, it's NOT a damn date." Babcock growled, picking up her fork, getting ready to stab the young woman with it, the next time she'd heard her mention the word 'date', but she managed to restrain control and slammed it down on the table, reminding herself that she was hiding and didn't want to attract attention, Breathe, C.C., breathe.

The young woman was taken aback by C.C.'s sudden outburst and stood in complete shock.

"Oh don't mind her, Miss; she just woke up on the wrong side of the cage this morning." Niles joked in an attempt to break the tense atmosphere, triggering a loud-pitched giggle from the waitress.

"You don't say, honey." Penny remarked impulsively and not very quietly either, while grinning widely at him, something that didn't pass undetected by C.C. who instantly looked up at the waitress, incredulous. Was that 'Bimbo' hitting on Niles?

Penny; however seemed to pay no attention to C.C.'s look as she kept giggling at Niles joke, while leaning a little closer to him.

"We still need to order here!" C.C. reminded her through clenched teeth.

Penny cleared her throat and pulled away from Niles. "Yeah, right, sorry, so… what can I get for you to drink?" she asked while a sour expression fleeted across her face as she turned and glanced at C.C.

Babcock noticed the bitter look immediately, but chose not to comment on it. "I'll have a scotch on the rocks."

"How about you, Sir?" She purred, flipping her brown curly hair over her shoulder and batting her eyelashes flirtatiously, trying to get Niles' attention. No luck though. He was too busy scanning the wine list.

C.C. frowned in annoyance. Yep, she was hitting on him. There was not even the slightly doubt about that anymore. But what did that woman think she was doing? Okay, okay, this wasn't a date, but was it not obvious that Niles was escorting her?

"Hmm…I will have a glass of Cheateu Lafiete Rothchild." Niles finally said interrupting C.C.'s thoughts.

"Aww, excellent choice of wine," The waitress remarked with a smirk as she jotted the order down in her notepad. "I'll be back with your drinks soon." She said then turned around and headed towards the kitchen, hips swaying seductively with each step.

**~~o0o~~**

"Yep, still here," C.C. hissed, checking the reflections of her friends in the mirrored walls at the left of the room, before buried herself behind the menu once again.

"Of course they are," Niles replied in an ironic tone of voice while scanning over his menu, trying to find the most expensive pasta on there. He couldn't wait to send Nanny Fine the bill as a thank you gift for this terrible date.

Just then the waitress came back carrying a tray of drinks, "Here are your drinks and may I take you orders?" Penny asked, leaning as close to Niles as possible while placing the drinks on the table.

C.C. rolled her eyes at the girl, before raised her glass and drank the whole thing.

Niles nodded. "I'll have Spaghetti Con Arragosta, please."

"And you, ma'am?" Penny asked before turned at C.C., her voice matching her stony expression.

The blonde sighed. "I'll have the same," she replied indifferent, suddenly not hungry at all.

Penny nodded, then took Niles' menu and reached for C.C.'s, but she held a tight grip on it, refusing to give up her only cover.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but I need to take this back now." The brunette said visibly annoyed with C.C.'s behavior while started dragging the edge of the menu with all her might, trying to steal it from Babcock's hands, but it was useless. C.C.'s hold was rather strong, turning her knuckles white from the tight grip she had on

"No you don't." C.C. spat out, glaring daggers at her.

"Yes, I do." Penny insisted at the same tone C.C. had used, trying to get it off her again. No success though.

"What Miss Babcock means is that we would like to keep this a little longer in case we order more later." Niles interrupted hoping to prevent the waitress from making a scene about C.C.'s bad manners.

Rachel released the menu and glared at Niles who Instantly flashed her his best smile he could manage, "Fine," she said then re-angled her body toward him and added, "If there's anything else I can do for you…and I mean anything, just let me know. I'll be working until late tonight."

Niles felt his face warm up in discomfort, "Umm…thank you, Miss."

The waitress smiled and leaned close to Niles' ear, before whispered loud enough for C.C. to hear, "it's my pleasure, honey."

"It's my pleasure, honey," C.C. imitated under her breath in an annoying high-pitched voice while balled her hands into fists, nails digging into the smooth flesh of her palms in anger. She didn't know with certain what had upset her more: the fact that she had tried to take her only cover or that she was hitting on Niles so shamelessly, but she knew that she had to think something to send that woman away and fast.

"I think the gentleman over there calls for a waitress!" C.C. exclaimed after a few moments of thinking, pointing to a nearby table that had been trying to get the waitress' attention so she could bring him the check for the last five minutes or so.

A look of annoyance crumbled Penny's gorgeous features and she turned to leave but as she did so, 'accidentally' dropped something on the floor.

''Oops! It seems that I dropped something. How clumsy of me.'' She cooed and teasingly swayed her hips a little in front of Niles face, before bending down and picking up the fork. Then she winked at Niles one last time and left their table, purposely swaying her hips as she walked away.

"Urgh, I hate that waitress, I hope she isn't expecting a tip," The blonde growled when Penny was out of ear shot and the menu rested once again safely in her grasp.

"I just hope she didn't spit in our plates, not that you'll realize the different of course. I came to that conclusion a long time ago!" Niles remarked with a chuckle, examining carefully his food.

"Don't worry; I'm sure she could never do something like that to your food." C.C. answered, choosing to ignore his stupid remark, sarcasm and irritation dripping from her voice.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" he asked warily.

C.C. rolled her eyes. "Come on, Niles, that woman was practically drooling all over you."

Niles chuckled, "that woman doesn't even know me."

"Well it definitely seems like she would like to know you better." The blonde snapped.

"She was just polite." Niles replied calmly, picking up his fork and starting to twirl the pasta around it.

C.C. looked astonished by Niles' calmly, almost too calmly answer. "So, are you going to deny the fact that she flashed you flirtatious smiles and winks too?" She finished her question, folding her arms and slipping low in her seat.

"I'm not denying anything because there is nothing to deny, however, I must admit, I love the way she bent over to pick up that fork." Niles replied with a smirk while started chewing casually his spaghetti.

C.C.'s eyes widened for a second before hissed, "Aha! I knew you noticed her!"

Niles lowered his fork to the dish and looked at C.C.'s face, what he saw surprised him, because it was a side of her he had never experienced…severe jealousy, "If I didn't know better, I would say that you're jealous."

"Me? Jealous? Oh, please!" She spat out the last words out like they were poison. "I just think that her type of behavior is very inappropriate for someone who works in such a high class restaurant. Other than that I think that she looks like your type," C.C. said trying to appearance as nonchalant as possible.

Niles grinned at her answer and leaned over the table slightly. It was a small one, so the distance between them closed up very quickly. He stared deep into her blue eyes and she stared back into his as he protested, "You don't know my type, Miss Babcock!"

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**A/N:** _Thank_ _you for reading this. Reviews are greatly appreciated._

_**To be continued…**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** _All rights belong to their original owners. No copyright infringement intended._

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**Blind Date - Chapter Four**

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**~~o0o~~**

Babcock parted her lips ready to say something, but when she realized Niles' eyes had followed the motion of her lips, her heart began to beat a little bit faster in her chest and the words caught in her throat, creating an almost suffocating feeling. No one ever had that effect on her. "Niles…," her voice trailing off.

"Yes?" the butler whispered coming closer and closer, his eyes shifting from C.C.'s cherry-colored lips back into her blue orbs. To his surprise C.C. didn't move from her spot nor did she tell him to get lost. She just stood there like being hypnotized from the close proximity as she found herself slowly sinking into the sea blue of his eyes, completely incapable of looking away.

"I…umm…I…" C.C. mumbled, mouth opening and closing as if unsure of what to say. Their lips now only inches away from touching and somehow it felt more than right, better than right, whatever that meant.

Niles' eyes shifted again at hers, egging her on to speak, secretly thinking that he had prepared himself for every probable way C.C.'s sentence could end, but there was really no way he could had prepared himself for this: "I…I need to pee."

The butler stared at C.C. blankly, not fully realizing what he'd just heard. "You need to… what?" he gasped in shock as he pulled back.

"I said I need to…"

Niles shook his head stopping her. "I heard what you said." He just couldn't believe it. "Then go… nobody is stopping you," his voice edged with disappointment.

"I… can't" C.C. admitted looking a little uneasy.

At this a frown of puzzlement crossed Niles' features. "And why not?"

Babcock sighed heavily. "You see that hallway over there?" she asked, pointing to the small hallway at the end of the dining area.

Niles nodded quietly.

"That's the hallway that leads to the lavatories," C.C. said.

"And this is bad because?" he questioned, confusion evident in his voice.

"Because, in order to reach that hallway I should pass right in front of them, first." C.C. said nodding her head in the direction of her friends who were still deep in some random discussion.

Niles blinked a few times. "So…you prefer to wet yourself than face the possibility to ruin your already-nasty reputation? You know this doesn't make any sense, right?"

Anger and hatred began pulsing through C.C. veins once again. "Ohh, poor Niles, you've mistaken mine reputation with yours again, but it's okay, it's perfectly normal to mistake things at your AGE…"She scoffed at the butler's remark using a fake sympathetic voice, but when she spat the last word she felt a sharp pain traveling through her urethra so she dropped the act, "AND I'm not going to wet myself, I'm a grown woman not some little girl, I can hold myself," she added, crossing her legs tightly and taking deep breaths trying to think of anything else than how badly she needed to pee. Okay, C.C., focus…focus and breathe…in and out… and in… and out. Don't think about the 'p' word, you can do this, just don't think about the 'p' word… C.C. thought to herself.

So, with those thoughts and many more, twirling in her mind, she waited…

And waited…

And then waited some more…

And some more…

It was obvious from the painful expressions on her face that her bladder was filling up near the limit, begging for release yet she was stubbornly refusing to stand up and go, before something embarrassing happened.

"That's way too ridiculous even for you, Babcock, just go already," Niles eventually spoke up, couldn't stand this any longer.

"I'm not going anywhere, I am perfectly okay!" C.C. huffed stubbornly. "Now mind your own business and just leave me alone!"

Niles shook his head without doubt C.C. Babcock was the most infuriating, stubborn creature he'd ever met. Something he couldn't change, even if he really wanted to, which he didn't want to, but he could tease his witch a little bit about it. The opportunity was quite ideal after all and he just couldn't let it pass him by.

"If you say so then fine…," the butler trailed of as an idea popped inside his mind.

A playful half grin plastered over his face as he picked up the pitcher of iced water from the table, but quickly disguised the smile and slowly began pouring some water in his glass, teasing her with the noise of water.

C.C. began shifting in her chair at the sound of water hitting the bottom of the glass, splash, splash, splash!

"Ohh, will you stop that!" C.C. snapped at him, felling the pressure expanding quickly through her.

Niles released another drip splash in the glass, before looking innocently at her, "stop what?"

"That!" She yelled pointing at the glass while clenching her legs together even more, in extreme agony.

"Oh, I'm sorry my dear I didn't realized it," Niles responded using the best fake remorseful tone he could manage "…but I tell you what, from now on no more water splashing."

C.C. looked at him suspiciously. Something wasn't right. He'd given up way too easily. "Better be true, Rochester, for your own good!"

"Cross my heart and hope YOU die," his hand flew over his mouth, "oops... sorry my dear."

His last remark made her anger rise to exploding point. "Okay, that's it, you win! I'm going to use the fricking bathroom right now and YOU, you are coming with me!"

He looked at her in shock for a moment before bursting into a deep throaty laughter. "Good one, Babs, you almost made me believe it for a minute."

"I'm perfectly serious, Dust Mop, now move, chop-chop." C.C. ordered him trying to drag him from his seat, but Niles refused to move.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, Brunette! Why the sudden change of heart? A few minutes ago you didn't want to hear anything about it and now you trying to drag me in there with you? And what makes you believe that I would go in there with you, anyway?"

C.C. grimaced. "That was a few minutes ago, now I have a plan that i can use to pass in front of them, without them see me. AND… you don't actually believe that I would leave you…," she wishing she could add, at the hands of that nasty waitress-bitch, but instead she added, "…alone here, knowing that my friends could come by and see you, do you? Now move your plump, old ass," she ordered him for a second time, but Niles stopped her again and C.C. groaned sharply, her patience thinning.

"First, you cannot order me around like I'm your dog and second, nope, nuh-uh, no way, I'm NOT going with you to the toilet or …anywhere as a matter of fact…so either stop acting so childish and just go or…," he leaned back in his chair, "pee all over you, if you wish."

"Listen to me, Rantanplan, if you don't come with me right now I will pee all over YOU."C.C. threatened him with a crazy shine in her eyes.

Niles groaned loudly in a mixture of annoyance and desperation. He knew he couldn't change her mind now, nor even with brain surgery, so she decided to go along with her plan. "Fine, lead the way," he croaked fiercely to C.C. who smiled satisfied and patted him on the head like a dog in return, "Good boy."

The butler narrowed his eyes at her. Then removed his napkin from his lap and tossed it on the table while C.C. dropped down to her knees and motioned for him to do the same. When he did they started crawling from table to table, as quickly as they could, doing some weird kind of slalom, avoiding people's legs until they reached the back hallway containing the lavatories.

When they reached their destination they saw a red headed waitress with water-soaked shoes hanging an 'Out of Order' sigh outside the ladies' bathroom door.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but you can't go in there right now." The girl informed C.C. pointing at the closed door.

"Why? What's wrong?" C.C. asked in agony.

"A water pipe has burst and the bathroom is a mess, but don't worry the maintenance guys will be here soon."

"But I…I need to use the…the bathroom really, really bad," C.C. mumbled, locking her legs together trying not to wet herself right there.

"The bathroom should be open in less than an hour," the girl said, trying to reassure C.C. "Until then though I'm going to lock the door so nobody goes in."

C.C. kept staring at the door almost blankly until the waitress locked it and walked away. This was a torture. She was on the verge of wetting her clothes and somehow knowing how physically close she was to a toilet made it only worse. Oh my God! What am I going to do now?" she thought to herself.

"Come with me." Niles voice interrupted her, as if on cue with her thoughts.

Those words filled the blonde with an overwhelming feeling of dread. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see when we get there."

"But I need to know…"

"You wanna pee or not?"

"More than anything!"

"Then trust me," he said, holding out his hand for her to take.

_**To be continued…**_

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**A/N: **_Please review, no matter what you have to say, because all kind of reviews are greatly appreciated._


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** _All rights belong to their original owners. No copyright infringement intended._

* * *

**Blind Date - Chapter Five**

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**~~o0o~~**

"Just a little further...hold it…hold it…" Niles told at C.C. who struggling to follow behind.

"Hold it? I can't bloody hold it any longer!" She shouted in response unable to bottle up her frustration as small ow, ow, ow sounds escaping her mouth with every step she was taking.

"And…here we are," Niles finally announced, mercifully putting an end to her extreme agony…or not.

C.C.'s mouth dropped open when she saw the door of the men's bathroom standing before her. "You've got to be kidding me; you don't actually expect me to go in a men's bathroom, do you?" She hissed. Then quickly yelled at him with emphasis, "shut up!" before Niles could even open his mouth, receiving a small chuckle out of him in return. She knew him so well…as well as he knew her actually.

"Miss Babcock, it's just a common bathroom which has toilets in it. It's really not a big deal." Niles said in an attempt to reason with her.

Babcock shook her head from side to side, "No, it's a men's room and men's rooms are like men, they're either taken or full of sh-," the last word barely discernible as she interrupted by Niles' loud, laughter, but she ignored him and just continued, "…and there are no seats to sit nor walls or doors for privacy or…"

"I think you've seen too many movies…or too many men's bathrooms, Babs," Niles remarked with a smirk, interrupting her for a second time.

C.C. groaned and threw him a 'if looks could kill you'd be already dead five times by now' kind of look, that much annoyed she was that the butler had implied—even not for the first time—that she wasn't a real woman.

Niles smirked with satisfaction that his words had obvious hit home and continued, "We are at an expensive restaurant in New York, not at some random gas station in the middle of nowhere, but fine, if you got a better idea I'm all ears."

As embarrassing and annoying as it was, she knew the butler's words were true, "Alright, alright, I'll go!" she exclaimed, but didn't move from her spot, instead she was just staring intensely at that doorknob with a look of pure disgust on her face as various images of men touching the doorknob with unwashed hands flooded her mind, which even made her to forget she had to pee for a split second.

Sensing the reason behind her hesitation Niles shook his head incredulous. Then pulled out a white handkerchief from the pocket of his pants and handed it over. "Here you go."

C.C. cautiously took the handkerchief and reached for the doorknob, but just as she was going to touch it she dropped her hand.

"What now?" Niles gasped, his tone growing impatient.

Babcock looked at the butler with dread, "Erm…what if someone is in," she pointed with her chin, "there?"

"Say no more, dear," the butler responded in a serious tone then cleared his throat and announced in a loud voice: "Attention gentlemen, please put your snakes back in their cages if they are out of them; we've got an emergency situation here!" When no one replied Niles turned and looked at C.C., whose face was heated up from embarrassment, "better?" he asked in a mocking tone receiving a full eye-roll in response from her.

With his right hand Niles opened the door just a crack and pocked his head inside. The place was empty. Satisfied he pushed the door wider and stepped inside. "Okay, Babs, the coast is clear."

The first thing Babcock noticed as she entered the room was a small line of bathroom stalls. Without second thought she rushed and opened the door to one realizing with great relief that Niles was right, inside the stall was a very normal looking toilet with normal looking seat to sit on. Oh thank god, a little longer and I was going to burst, she thought with great relief, before darted inside and locked the door behind her.

C.C. was about to grab some toilet tissue to cover the seat with it when she realized something: Niles still stood outside the stall she was in. "Oh, for God's sake, must you stand outside the stall door, Bell Boy?" She huffed.

"Don't worry, CaCa; I have no intention of staying here. I'll be right outside the bathroom door, if you need anything…"

"In your dreams!" She cut him off.

A smile graced his lips, but Niles managed to keep any trace of it out of his voice when he replied, "It's more like in my nightmares, Babs."

It was C.C's turn to smile now. Too bad Niles couldn't see it.

"Anyway, if you need anything bark." With that Niles put his hand on the door knob and twisted it but instead of the door opening, the doorknob broke off, trapping them together in there.

"I must be cursed," he concluded staring at the broken knob at his hand horrified.

_**To be continued…**_

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**A/N:** _Thank you__ so much for __all__ the __reviews__. I really appreciate __all__ of them. Also don't worry about the __romance part_. _Things will be changing soon he,he,he :) _


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** _All rights belong to their original owners. No copyright infringement intended._

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**Blind Date - Chapter Six**

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**~~o0o~~**

No matter how many times Niles tried to reattach the knob to the door, they all failed.

"Oh no."

C.C. came out of the stall and approached the sink to wash her hands. "What's wrong?" She asked amused somewhat from the obvious annoyance in butler's voice.

"The doorknob came off. We're stuck in here."

C.C. seized a paper towel from the dispenser. "Yeah right, like I'd fall for that." She replied with a chuckle, walking toward Niles as she dried her hands.

Niles turned to her, his eyebrow arched. "Why would I joke about something like this?" his voice came out grumpier than he had intended.

"Because you are a nasty, despicable, poor excuse for…" she trailed off, as her eyes fell on the obviously handle-less door and then shifted at the broken knob at his grip, a hellish fire in her eyes. "What did YOU..," pointed her index finger at him, "…do?"

"Me? Nothing…I just turned the door handle and it fell off in my hand." Niles told her innocently as she began pacing back and forth, shaking her head in denial. "No, no, no this isn't happening. No! It can't – It just can't."

Eventually, she tossed the paper towel into the trash and grasped the knob from him. "Oh, give me that… I'll fix it myself," snapped as she got down on her knees and began to work on it, but it was totally useless, "on second thoughts… I won't." She murmured as a frown crashed down over her features, but it didn't last long as her face lit back up not even a moment later with a new idea.

"Stand back, Butler boy" she said to him then tossed the doorknob somewhere across the room and started to do a light warm up, rolling her neck and stretching her arms over her head.

Niles looking at her like he wanted to protest, but obliged to her demand nonetheless. Once he was out of the way of the door she took a few steps back and slammed her shoulder against it, trying to dislodge the door out of place.

BAM!

Few seconds later she found herself lying flat on the floor.

Niles gasped and hurried over to her side to lift her back onto her feet. "You are a crazy, crazy woman!"

Babcock grimaced in pain. "Well, it was worth a try-OUCH," she replied rubbing her sore shoulder when another idea popped into her head, "Hey! What if we both-" she began to say, but Niles cut her off, before she could finish her idea, "two words, Witch" he counted on his fingers, "NO...WAY"

C.C. rolled her eyes at him and leaned her back against the wall, brushing the dust off her dress, "Fantastic… just fantastic, of all the people I could've been trapped with and of all the places, I'm stuck with you in a men's bathroom."

"I thought you liked my company!" Niles winced with a fake pout receiving a death glare from C.C. in return.

"How can you be so freakin' calm?"

"Because I know that all we can do is sit here and wait for someone to come and open the door." He replied and with that settled himself on the floor.

C.C. did not want to admit that Niles was right. "Not if I can help it," she muttered to no one in particular looking around her surroundings thinking. There had to be a way out!

Suddenly her eyes flickered. Niles noticed it and followed her with his eyes as she walked over to a small window at the wall and opened it as wide as it would go.

"What are you doing?" He questioned with wide eyes as Babcock stuck her head out the square window. It was pouring outside.

"What does it look like I'm doing? She asked looking around, water in cool, stinging drops falling on her hair and skin. Her gaze fell on a large tree that was growing near the outside wall of the restaurant.

She moved her head back inside and glanced at Niles. He could tell from her look she was planning something crazy again.

"I'm planning on climbing out of this window and down the tree outside."

Yep! Right again! Niles thought to himself.

"You wouldn't fit." He pointed out; after sized up the window in his head however the timidity in his voice made it obvious he wasn't entirely sure. "I mean, let's be realistic here, you'd have to be dead six months to fit through it."

C.C. poked her tongue out at him for good measure and slinked one leg out of the window, something that made Niles realize that she was indeed serious about it. Immediately jumped up from his spot on the floor and rushed over to her, "whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, Cat woman," effectively stopping her dead in her tracks. He glimpsed out the window just to confirm his suspicions, then rolled his eyes and looked at her like she had lost her mind. "Miss Babcock, climbing down a tree is not like climbing down a ladder; you could easily slip and fall…," suddenly paused and frowned, his own words replaying in his head, "hmm… you know what? please continue."

C.C. rolled her eyes. "Niles, I'm busy now. Can I ignore you some other time?"

The butler threw his hands in the air in utter frustration. "Fine, fine, but if you fall you will have to find another butler to reattach your pieces together, because this one right here is not gonna do it!"

"You are such a drama queen! I told you, it's not that difficult, all I have to do is to reach one of the sturdy branches," she responded letting out a deep sigh, then took a better look off the tree, it was full of branches and all seemed the same. Her eyebrows crumpled, "well…more or less..."

"My, my, you certainly make it sound like you've done this before," he joked as a genuine grin tilted his lips, but quickly disappeared and an 'o' shape formed in its place when C.C.'s gaze dropped to the floor. "Oh…MY…God! You've...indeed done this before, haven't you?"

C.C. bit her lower lip nervously then slowly let her gaze travel up to meet his, "maybe…"

Niles crossed his arms, arching an eyebrow. This ought to be good. He thought to himself. "Maybe?"

"Fine! I have…well sorta...once…years ago." She sighed deeply, before speaking again, "my parents divorced when I was four. My daddy got custody over me and my mammy got summers and some holidays," at this Niles offered her an apologizing look, but she smiled at him so he wouldn't think he hit a painful spot then continued, "it was fine…"she paused and licked her lips, "…well until I turned fifteen. I remember it was summer and like any other summer I went to spent it with my mammy. I wanted to go to a friend's party, but she was super strict with me and never let me do anything fun or go anywhere," she stopped for a moment, thinking about it her, blue eyes cloudy and unfocused. When she spoke again her voice was deeper than usual, "And if my mother said no that was it, end of discussion."

"And since when did you take no for an answer?" Niles asked her then studied her face for a moment. A flash sparked in her eyes as she smiled at him, "Never! That's why I decided to sneak out of the house. Unfortunately, the mansion was full of servants and they would know if the front door opened. So I waited until my mother had gone to sleep -her room was at the other end of the mansion- and two seconds after my nanny checked to make sure I was there, I climbed out of my bedroom window and down a climbing plant that was growing along the walls of the mansion, until was safely on the ground. My friends were waiting for me two blocks away into a car."

"Did you get caught?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Curiosity, mainly."

"No, I didn't get caught…I had left the window open and climbed back in early the morning undetected, but I never sneaked out again because I was so scared the whole time that my mother would show up at the party to drag me home, humiliating the hell out of me in front of everyone I knew to the point that I didn't enjoy myself at all."

"Well, aren't you going to say anything obnoxious?" C.C. asked looking at him in surprise when Niles didn't say anything.

"Only if you want me to."

C.C. shifted uncomfortably. She could tell from his answer that he felt bad for her and didn't know how to handle it. It was almost funny, she could handle everything else, any insult, any prank and any joke the butler had thrown at her, but she couldn't handle his compassion.

So she didn't respond just tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and focused back on her task. Shifting her weight a little she reached for a branch, but her fingertips barely grazed it as the rain outside was making it extra slippery and as a result difficult for her to grab a firm hold onto it. Growling with frustration, she eased the upper -half of her body out of the window trying to reach further.

Niles watched her every move in part horror, part bewilderment until more than halfway out the window she finally grasped the branch with both hands.

"Ha! See? I told you I could do it," she told him allowing herself a moment of triumph. For a moment she thought she heard him say something in response, but she couldn't tell for sure over the sound of the rain.

The next moment, she heard a loud crack. C.C. knew that this could only mean one thing -the branch broke-, but it happened so fast that she didn't even have time to scream or close her eyes to prepare herself mentally for what was coming.

Luckily, what was coming was Niles strong hand around her waist, pulling her back inside the room with such force that lost his balance and fell backwards, flat on his back with her on top of him, pinning him down.

"You okay?" Niles asked panting hard as all of the wind was knocked out of his lungs.

"I think so" She answered trying to catch her own breath as well.

They both laid there in silence for a moment until Niles started laughing under his breath.

C.C. raised an eyebrow in confusion, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. It's just that …there's a bright side to all this."

"Oh really?! How?!" C.C. asked exasperated. How can he find a bright side in this?

"If I start getting white hairs prematurely after tonight, at least I would know who to blame for it!"

C.C. just snorted.

_**To be continued…**_

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**A/N:** _Hope you liked it. Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think!_


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** _All rights belong to their original owners. No copyright infringement intended._

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**Blind Date - Chapter Seven**

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**~~o0o~~**

Few minutes later C.C. was once again busy thinking about possible ways to get the door of the bathroom open – apparently her little 'accident' earlier had taught her nothing-, until Niles' humming began to fog her thoughts.

"Must you do it so loudly?!" She suddenly hissed, glaring at Niles who sat on the opposite side of the room.

"Why? Does it bother you that much?" He asked, casually.

"Yes, it does," C.C. growled. She couldn't hide the irritation in her voice, but it was not like she wanted to anyway.

"Then I must!" He shot back and continued humming the tune under his breath, knowing with a secret smirk that it would only upset her even more. He found it rather fascinating when she got all flushed and hot because of him.

C.C. let out a shrug. She'd walked blindly right into that one. Babcock was without doubt a very clever woman, but the butler had the talent to scare her intellect away some times. "You think you're clever, don't you?" C.C. told him, knowing by his victorious smirk that he was enjoying her irritation.

"No, I know for a fact that I'm clever!" He interjected receiving an eye roll in return. "You see unlike a certain brunette I know, I've been called that a lot of times"

"You do know your mother doesn't count, right?" C.C. replied, her voice laden with sarcasm.

"Touché," He conceded, trying to bite back a smile. "Although, I was right that you could easily slip and fall through that window, wasn't I? But as you know I'm a very modest guy and I hate to say I told you so."

"You hate what?," the blonde echoed his comment, quirking an eyebrow at him, "Oh please, don't make me laugh!, she scoffed, "You love to say I told you so."

"Indeed," he flashed a mocking grin. "Well, I told you so!"

"I wonder what in the world had Nanny Fine been thinking when set us up on a date. Had that woman gone completely insane?" C.C. wondered, massaging her temple with her fingertips. "Yeah that must be. Well, either that or…," she paused to eye him skeptically, "you don't actually believe she thought we'd get along, do you?"

"Don't ask me!" he protested.

"She's your friend, not mine!" C.C. argued back.

"Since when have I ever claimed to understand Miss Fines' way of thinking? But who knows? Lately she uses more than one large can of hairspray per day and if she uses a lot then she must be inhaling and some of it."

Under any other circumstances she would have laughed hard at the Butler's remark, but now she was apparently in one of her bad moods to do so. "Ugh, this is your entire fault, Dust Mop!" She snapped glaring daggers at him, putting an extra emphasis on the word 'your' to make sure he knew he was responsible for this.

"My fault? How this is my fault? What did I do?" Niles asked, returning the glare full force. "You know, apart from save your big ass a couple of times today?"

"If you haven't forced me in here, this wouldn't have happened!" C.C. spat as she started pacing around the small room.

"Well excuse me for trying to help!" Niles retorted, stopping her in her tracks.

"Oh please don't be ridiculous. You're as useless as the pants on a hooker," Babcock scoffed, declining her back against the wall.

Slowly she slid down, until her butt hit the floor while a heavy, almost suffocating silence settled between the two opposite elements. He stared down at his clasped hands, resting between his parted knees and she stared down at the floor.

At some point, as much awkward as it was, they started talking/arguing again, even though it took them a good five minutes or so to do so.

"So how long have we been in here anyway?" Niles asked shifting his body a little so he was facing her.

"20 minutes and 12 seconds, but who's counting, right?" C.C. responded raking her stressed fingers through her hair, feeling like a bug trapped in a spider web. Then tried to stand up but to her disappointment, she slipped and landed on her butt.

Niles chuckled then got up from the floor and extended his hand towards her.

She tossed him one of her best death glares, but took it anyway.

He pulled her up hard enough that she bumped into his chest then cleared his throat awkwardly and took a few steps back. "Look, C.C.," Niles started slowly," just calm down alright, someone will let us out any minute."

"How can you be so,'' she started to say dusting off her dress before taking a few steps away from him as well,'' ...wait...did you just call me C.C.?"

"Indeed…well, I thought that we couldn't keep calling you 'it' or 'you know who' or 'that which must not be named' any longer. Niles teased, but she'd barely heard it. Her brain had focused on something else. Eventually she cocked her head to the side and glared at him, smiling slightly.

"What's wrong?" The butler asked her with a look very close to concern.

"Nothing, I just realised something."

Niles looked at her with interest, clearly urging her to continue, so she did, "Do you remember the last time you called me by my first name?" She asked then waited for him to say something, but he didn't, he was most likely busy wondering where exactly she was going with this, so she forged ahead, "It was twenty years ago today. At the University," lowering her eyes to the floor she added quietly, "the day we first met."

"No", he said simply.

C.C.'s blue eyes shot up so quickly Niles almost gasped. She looked confused and a little tense by his statement. How could he forget such a significant event? "You sat down next to me in business class." She reminded him not bothering to hide the fact that she felt a little hurt.

Niles shook his head, ''No, I meant, we met before that…'' his tone calm, "in the library."

C.C. blinked in confusion. It was true, she used to pass a lot of her free periods in the library back then -come to think of it, It's almost ironic how one of the tallest girls in University can be so… invisible- but she couldn't remember seeing Niles there so she met his eyes and shrugged, showing him she had no idea what he was talking about.

''It was the second day back in University after summer break and I was going to the University's library to study. I walked past a young blonde when our shoulders bumped harshly sending all the books she was carrying on the floor. She gathered her books and without meeting my gaze shouted at me, "Watch out where you're going you dumbass! You bumped into me!" I shouted back, "What do you mean 'watch were you're going'…

…you were the one who bumped into me! So I guess you should apologize." C.C. finished for him, her mouth hanging open. "That was you?!"

Niles nodded his head, smirking slightly. "At this your face turned all hot. You balled your hands into fists, and still not looking to see who you bumped into you yelled, "I'll tell you what, learn some manners and I might apologize to you… blind bat.

C.C. smiled at the memory. You said, "I'll tell you what, re-dye your hair back to its natural color and I might apologize to you...brunnet."

And you replied, "You are not even worth the calories I burn talking to you. Now get out of my way, I running late." and with those words you stormed away from me, shaking from head to toe in anger. "I must have stood there for a good five minutes trying to get what the hell just happened. You were the first person I had ever encountered with such a hot temper. I tried to forget about you. I tried hard, but for some odd reason every time I closed my eyes your face was always there." As he was saying those words C.C. was searching for hint of dishonesty or mockery. She found none. "So I went to find you. It took me a few days, but I found you nonetheless. Then one thing led to another…"

"…and then nothing," C.C finished for him, regretting it the moment she said it, but it was too late to take it back now.

"I was going to call you..." Niles began.

_**To be continued…**_

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**A/N:**_Thanks for reading! As always, it gives me great pleasure to read your thoughts. :)_


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